Pegasus Project revelations in India

[7] Pegasus is a spyware developed by the NSO Group, an Israeli technology and cyber-arms firm that can be secretly deployed on mobile phones and other devices, which run most versions of Android and iOS.

The Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms (CJAR) released the following statement:Such large-scale intrusive surveillance into the personal phones of political leaders, journalists, activists is a flagrant violation of the right to privacy as upheld by the Hon'ble Supreme Court and an affront on the civil liberties of citizens.CJAR stated that this was an attack on the independence of the judiciary and called for a response from the highest court in the land.

It raised the question asking why a software that was reported sold only to "vetted governments" for national security issues was used to spy on Gogoi's staffer and also demanded a probe into improper collusion between the executive and judiciary.

In a tweet the Press Club of India (PCI) issued a statement:This is the first time in the history of this country that all pillars of our democracy — judiciary, Parliamentarians, media, executives & ministers — have been spied upon.

[33]Similarly, the Editor's Guild of India also released a statement directed against the alleged spying made by the Indian government, saying:This act of snooping essentially conveys that journalism and political dissent are now equated with 'terror'.

How can a constitutional democracy survive if governments do not make an effort to protect freedom of speech and allows surveillance with such impunity?It asked for a Supreme Court monitored enquiry into the matter, and further demanded that the inquiry committee should include people of impeccable credibility from different walks of life—including journalists and civil society—so that it can independently investigate the facts around the extent and intent of snooping using the services of Pegasus.

[40] However, these reports were later proven to be false, and Amnesty issued a statement stating that it categorically stands by the findings of the investigation and that the data is irrefutably linked to potential targets of NSO Group's Pegasus spyware.

Vaishnaw stated the report came one day before the monsoon session of Parliament and that "this cannot be a coincidence" and Yogi Adityanath said "the opposition, knowingly or unknowingly, is falling prey to the international conspiracy."

[16] On 27 July 2021 ten opposition parties met to coordinate their response to move joint adjournment notice in Lok Sabha to discuss the Pegasus snooping issue.

As a reaction to this, a member of a committee stated: "what happened today shows the lengths to which BJP is willing to go in order to not discuss the Pegasus spyware issue".

[68] West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, from the AITC, alleged that the central government intends to "turn India into a surveillance state" where "democracy is in danger".

[73] She accused the central government of sitting idle on the matter and set up a judicial inquiry panel to investigate the allegations that were revealed by the Pegasus Project.

[76] Advocate M L Sharma and John Brittas, a member of the Rajya Sabha of the CPI (M) party filed a petition that sought a court-monitored probe into the allegations of unauthorised use of the Pegasus spyware on Indian citizens.

It said that if the act was carried out by the government, it would amount to unauthorised spying on Indian citizens and that the spending of resources for political gain by the ruling party should not be allowed.

[36] Sanjay Raut, a politician from Shiv Sena stated that "mobile phones have become virtual bombs" and are used to keep tab of the opponents of the ruling party.

[42][43][44] West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee set up an inquiry commission to probe Pegasus spyware which was stayed by the Supreme court of India.

[81] On 28 October 2021, the honourable Supreme Court of India agreeing that a central-based inquiry was needed, ordered an independent probe into the issue by a three-member committee.